Metro FMR · CBSA 48060 · HUD FY2026
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA Fair Market Rent
HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA metro area - 12% above the US average.
- $1,071
- 1-bedroom FMR
- $1,405
- 2-bedroom FMR
- +9.6%
- YoY change
- +12%
- vs US avg
The verdict
A 2-bedroom in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA area rents at $1,405 under HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent - 20% above the US average, higher than 62% of the 387 metro areas HUD tracks.
- #147
- priciest of 387 US metros (2BR)
- +20%
- vs the US 2-bedroom average
- $56,200
- income to afford it (30% rule)
- +9.6%
- 1BR change, FY2025→2026
Affordability & income context
Watertown-Fort Drum: #147 priciest nationally · income context
At the metro's ACS median household income of $64,978, this 1-bedroom FMR takes 19.8% of annual income. It is well below the 30% affordability guide for a median-income household.
The 2-bedroom figure places Watertown-Fort Drum in the middle half of HUD metro areas, using the same FY2026 HUD schedule as the national comparison.
With 117,445 residents, this is a smaller-metro benchmark rather than a single-neighborhood rent quote.
Its 2-bedroom FMR sits in the middle half of HUD metro areas, so the local-income comparison is more informative than the national rank alone.
The studio-through-two-bedroom FMR bands stay below 30% of recorded median income here; the larger-bedroom rows show where that headroom narrows.
ACS median household income lags the FY2026 HUD FMR schedule. The income share is a same-metro cross-source read (Census ACS B19013 vs HUD FMR), not a same-vintage ratio.
Studio
$969/mo
17.9% of median income
1 Bedroom
$1,071/mo
19.8% of median income
2 Bedroom
$1,405/mo
25.9% of median income
3 Bedroom
$1,907/mo
35.2% of median income
4 Bedroom
$2,340/mo
43.2% of median income
FMR filing desk
CBSA CBSA·48060
Watertown-Fort Drum: $1,071/mo 1BR · #147 of 387 metros (2BR) · FY2026 CBSA 48060
- CBSA 48060
- 1BR-FMR $1,071
- 2BR-FMR $1,405
- RANK-MID #147
- YOY-SURGE +9.6%
- VSUS-ABOVE +12%
- IN-ST-LOW #5 NY
- INC-ROOM 20%
- POP-MID 117K
- PHOTO-NEAR Albany-Schenectady
- VOUCH-90-110 $964–$1,178
- FY-2026 FY2026
Photo-finish peer: Albany-Schenectady-Troy ($346 1BR gap)
Read with: Understanding rent trends
Where Watertown-Fort Drum sits among every US metro
2-bedroom Fair Market Rent vs. all 387 HUD metro areas
$1,405 Top 38% higher than 62% of 387 metro areas
Each bar is a $0.2K-wide band; taller bars hold more metro areas. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents · FY2026
Watertown-Fort Drum studio–4BR schedule (FY2026) · 2BR #147 nationally
1BR $1,071 (+12% vs US, +9.6% YoY). Each bedroom band below is FY2026 HUD FMR for CBSA 48060.
How Watertown-Fort Drum compares on 1-bedroom rent
1-bedroom FMR vs other NY metro areas
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA
$1,417 1BR FMR / mo
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY MSA
$1,139 1BR FMR / mo
- Watertown-Fort Drum
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA
$1,071 1BR FMR / mo
- Glens Falls
Glens Falls, NY MSA
$1,066 1BR FMR / mo
- Elmira
Elmira, NY MSA
$978 1BR FMR / mo
- Binghamton
Binghamton, NY MSA
$868 1BR FMR / mo
What this shows Watertown-Fort Drum highlighted among 5 peers · FY2026 1BR HUD FMR.
Watertown-Fort Drum: out-of-state FMR & burden peers
PlainRent pairs Watertown-Fort Drum with the 4 nearest HUD 2BR schedules and 4 nearest burden matches outside NY (burden peers exclude the FMR set; pop ≥50k).
2BR FMR · outside NY
Nearest schedules by 2BR delta (FY2026).
Burden % · outside NY
Nearest 2BR FMR ÷ ACS median income (FY2026).
Watertown-Fort Drum: quick answers
What is the average rent in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA metro area? ▼
How does Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA rent compare to the national average? ▼
Where does Watertown-Fort Drum rank nationally for Fair Market Rent? ▼
What income do I need to afford rent in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA? ▼
Compare Watertown-Fort Drum vs Albany-Schenectady-Troy →
Data as of FY 2026. Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents. Population and demographic data from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainRent is rendered directly from HUD's published Fair Market Rent records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of FY 2026.